


Puppy blue eyes

by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, There's a puppy, inspired by a drawing, post-S5 (will probably be jossed to all hell but idc), various pack members mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-04-12 02:36:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4462115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/triggeringthehealing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles' Jeep has broken down once again, and he's stuck walking home. The way there is by the Preserve, and he hopes to get home before the rain clouds unleash their wrath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Puppy blue eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aredblush](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aredblush/gifts).



> This was supposed to be a tiny ficlet based on [this](http://aredblush.tumblr.com/post/31609778251/nic-and-i-had-reason-to-celebrate-and-i-told-her) doodle by [aredblush](http://aredblush.tumblr.com/). It's not exactly what the doodle caption says, since the ficlet kind of grew into something else. There be puppies and fluff.

It's Scott who has a soft spot for little birds with broken wings, stray cats stuck in trees and on roofs, or puppies of all shapes and sizes brought in to Deaton's. It's Scott who can't walk away and who had to listen to Melissa's "Honey, we can't _afford_ a pet" speech multiple times. Not Stiles. No, Stiles is the one who at best helps an animal when it's seriously hurt, who will bring it to Deaton and then walks away without a second thought.

That's not really what runs through his mind that evening though. He's walking home -- his Jeep yet again stuck in the school's parking lot because it wouldn't start -- and he's musing over the latest pack meeting. They've grown since the start of senior year, not only in maturity but also in numbers. Liam and Mason are firmly members of the pack, and so are a few newbies -- strays that Scott couldn't let go, couldn't leave unprotected.

There were surprises this year, like when Jackson came back from London, calm and a lot less abrasive than Stiles remembered him, and Danny soon followed. Or when Chris let them know that Isaac is returning to finish high school in the US, and with Chris now being his legal guardian, Beacon Hills was the easiest option. Oh yeah, Chris also came back from his hunt for Kate -- minus _Kate_ , luckily -- and as a representative for the Argents, he was now in an alliance with Scott's pack.

What threw Stiles off completely was someone else, though. One day, just after Christmas, there was a knock on the door, and when Stiles opened it, his jaw hit the floor. Almost literally, since he tripped in the hallway in his rush to get the door.

"Cora?"

"Hey, Stilinski," she said brightly, like it was no big deal that she was all of a sudden back in town.

She explained then that Derek still owned the building with the loft, and she needed a permanent address in California because she was applying to college in the state. As an adult, she didn't need a legal guardian anymore, and their money was back in Derek's account, especially now that Braeden was working _with_ Derek instead of _for_ him. Scott of course immediately accepted her into his pack, and offered the invitation to Derek too via a phone call.

Stiles keeps walking by the Preserve, and as his eyes drift towards the side road that leads to where the Hale house used to stand, he smiles at the thought of Derek being pack. It's not like he's _in town_ , but Stiles -- because of a string of events that he still doesn't entirely understand -- can feel the pack bonds now. And it's there, firm and square, the same way there's a line to Cora, to Malia, to Liam and even Mason, the same way he can feel the connection to Lydia and Jackson. The way he knows that even Chris is in the mix via Isaac.

He's still lost in thought when he hears it. It's the tiniest yip he's ever heard, but since there are no cars on the road, it manages to reach Stiles' ears. He whips his head around immediately, searching for the source, but at first there's nothing but bushes and tree branches in his line of sight. Then the yip repeats, and Stiles' eyes catch a dark shadow behind one overturned tree trunk.

When he steps closer, a low but unthreatening growl comes from the grass behind the trunk, and then a pair of spiky ears pop out of the sea of green.

"Heyyyy there," Stiles says quietly, taking slow and cautious steps closer. "I'm not a threat, I promise. Just a human, unarmed and weak. Oh god, I'm talking to a _puppy_ ," he finishes as he reaches the trunk and peeks over it.

Because that's what he sees behind the fallen tree: a black bundle of fluff with ears peeking out above a pair of blue eyes, its fur matted. It's shivering, Stiles can see that without needing to touch it, and it's looking at him like it's hesitating between running off and coming closer.

"Hey, hey little one," Stiles says gently, and he puts a hand on the tree trunk, but not close enough to touch the pup. "Wanna come closer?"

The puppy yips again, even quieter than before, but it does shuffle forward, towards Stiles' hand. He doesn't move as the puppy takes the first sniff, nor when it puts its paws on top of the trunk and lifts its head above the wood. It seems less puppyish when it looks at Stiles, and his mind jumps to wolf cubs and then to the wolf that he saw Derek transform into what feels like a lifetime ago.

"Hi there," Stiles whispers, and his lips turn into a grin when the pup sniffs at his hand again.

It quickly loses its shyness, and Stiles -- still cautious -- moves to pet it. When the puppy doesn't pull away or seem to mind the touch, Stiles scoops it up and stands up, the puppy tucked against his chest. He can feel the shivers now, and the pup's fur feels damp to the touch.

"Okay, I can't leave you here," Stiles says. "We've gotta get you to Deaton's."

Just as he says it, a drop falls on his face, quickly followed by another. Before he knows it, the skies have opened and he's being drenched in rain, his hoodie a flimsy protection against it.

"Shit, no," he swears some more under his breath, and unzips the hoodie to tuck the pup inside. "Right, little guy, we definitely have to get somewhere dry."

He's closer to the vet clinic than he is to his house, so Stiles turns back to where he came from and starts walking as fast as he can towards town. The rain shows no sign of easing up, and Stiles keeps muttering to himself about luck and how he's going to catch a cold for a lost puppy. He's just telling himself that this is something that Scott would do when a car pulls up next to him. He jumps a little, because he never heard it coming thanks to the rain and his own talking.

But then the rain isn't drenching his head anymore, and it takes a second or two for his brain to catch up. There's an umbrella over his head, and when he turns around, he almost drops the shivering puppy from his arms.

"Hey."

" _Hey_?" Stiles snaps. "Hey? That's what you've got?"

Derek -- because it's _Derek Hale_ of all people -- shrugs, and _whoa, is that an actual smile?_ Stiles thinks, unable to look away from Derek's face.

"Well, it is a perfectly polite greeting," Derek says, the smile still on his face.

"You're back," Stiles whispers then, when the fact finally clicks in his mind. "Wait," he adds, " _are_ you back? Or are you just visiting Cora? Or am I imagining things?"

He does feel the bond though, and it's stronger than when Derek was who knows where. _How did I not realize it?_ Stiles wonders, trying to probe his mind and senses for the moment it changed.

"How long have you been in town?"

"I just got back today," Derek says, and the smile is slowly fading. "But yes, I'm back, you're not imagining things, and yes part of it is that I'm helping Cora get ready for college."

"Only a part of it?"

"If Scott's offer still stands, I've come to be a part of the pack," Derek finishes.

"For good?" Stiles asks, and he can't help the hopeful tone in his voice.

"For as long as the pack will have me," Derek says. "I figured with a lot of you heading to college, Scott could do with more people around."

There's something about the way he says “the pack” that makes Stiles wonder if it's really what Derek is questioning. Before he can probe the topic more, the puppy squirms in his arms and the reality of the rain pelting down on the umbrella Derek's holding over their heads hits him. He shivers, and it's clear that it doesn't go unnoticed by Derek.

"Come on, let me bring you home," Derek says and he nods at the car next to them. "Or Deaton's?"

The puppy yips again, and it peeks out of Stiles' hoodie.

"Yeah, Deaton's would be good, this one is still shivering," Stiles says, his thoughts derailed from the talk about Derek staying in town.

They get in the car then, Derek waiting until Stiles is under the roof before he walks around to his side, and Stiles relaxes into the warmth of the seat.

"So, have you heard back from colleges yet?" Derek asks after starting the car and turning it to drive to the vet clinic.

Stiles nods and starts talking about campus tours that he did and the few schools that have responded to his applications. His rambling fills the car, and when he looks over to search Derek's face for the usual “shut up, Stiles” reaction, he finds a soft smile instead.

"You're different," Stiles says, and it's not a complaint.

Derek shrugs but doesn't offer a comment or an explanation.

"Ah, still non-verbal then," Stiles chuckles, "some things never change."

"You're pretty good at doing the talking," Derek says, and he sounds _fond_.

"That used to be something you hated. I recall multiple instances of _shut up Stiles_ in the past."

"I've had time away from it," Derek says. His eyes are still firmly on the road, but he smiles a little, and adds, "I kind of missed it."

Stiles freezes, and it's only when the puppy squirms in his arms that he comes back to reality. A reality where Derek has just admitted to missing something about _Stiles_.

"You missed…" Stiles starts saying, but he's cut off when the car stops in front of the clinic.

"Yeah, I did," Derek says, still smiling. "Come on, let's get the pup checked out."

The whole world seems hazy as Stiles goes through the motions of getting out of the car, walking into the clinic and handing the puppy to Deaton. He barely listens to what the vet is saying, because his mind is still buzzing with Derek's admission.

"So, the best place for her right now is with someone she trusts," Deaton says with a tone of finality when Stiles' mind comes back from his confusion. "She's very taken with you," the vet says and points to the puppy that is nipping at Stiles' fingers playfully, "so you're probably the best choice."

"Okay… wait, what?" Stiles asks, trying to remember anything of the conversation he missed.

"Deaton doesn't have the space to keep her right now," Derek explains. "She'll need someone to foster her for a while, before she can be put up for adoption."

"Oh," Stiles deflates.

He's not the one to volunteer for things like this, but the puppy looks at him, and the thought of Derek's wolf form fills Stiles' mind. Then he looks to Derek, and what throws Stiles completely is the expression on Derek's face. It's sort of hopeful, like he wants to keep the puppy himself, but also like he's waiting for Stiles to cave and agree to keep her. The pup yips between them, and nudges at Stiles' fingers, then butts into Derek's arm.

"She likes you too," Stiles says, not missing the way the puppy is taken with Derek.

"You're the one who found her, though," Derek replies. "She'd miss you if I took her with me."

They both jump when the door to the examination room shuts loudly. Stiles realizes that they were so caught up in each other that Deaton left the room without either of them noticing -- quite a feat considering one of them is a werewolf with super-senses.

"We could take turns?"

The question is out of Stiles' mouth before he can think about it. He doesn't get to question it for too long, though, because Derek's face lights up -- Stiles' heart skips a little at the sight -- and he nods in agreement. The puppy yips again, not impressed with being ignored, so Stiles picks her up and scratches behind her ears.

"Okay, girl, we need to talk about your puppy eyes," he tells her, and she licks his face, making him laugh. "And that, _eugh_. Bad puppy, Stiles is not food."

He startles at the sound of Derek chuckling, the sound so unfamiliar that Stiles immediately whips his head around to check if someone else walked in. No one else is there, and Derek's expression is soft, the smile reaching his eyes in a way Stiles hasn't seen it before.

"Come on, we have a puppy to get home," Derek interrupts Stiles' musings.

 _Home_ , Stiles thinks, _I like that_.

Because Derek is back in Beacon Hills, Derek _has missed Stiles_ , and Derek now temporarily co-owns a puppy with Stiles. With those things on his mind, Stiles smiles back before he heads for the door, tucking the puppy back into his hoodie.

"Let's go home," he whispers to her, and when he looks at Derek, the smile he's met with warms him more than he's willing to admit to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Rebloggable on tumblr [here](http://triggeringthehealing.tumblr.com/post/125440707154/puppy-blue-eyes)


End file.
